A first-of-its-kind YouTube documentary has used virtual reality (VR) to transport a group of young family history detectives to a pivotal moment in time for their relatives that were captured in photographs.
Remarkable Television, producers of popular UK shows including Pointless and The 100K Drop, joined forces with YouTube Originals to make the VR special Virtually History, which was released in November to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The show uses VR to help young Germans with family connections to the Wall travel ‘back in time’ to immerse themselves in their relatives’ stories. One participant is Anton Von Keussler, whose grandfather Klaus Von Keussler helped dig a tunnel that enabled 57 fugitives to escape from East to West in 1964. A photo of Von Keussler senior during the dig (pictured from the film) is brought to life and his grandson is seen experiencing it virtually, crawling along the tunnel and learning about his grandfather’s dangerous and heroic work. Presented by historian Emma Dabiri in English, Virtually History is nearly 30 minutes’ long and can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOM4iVakQLU on the ‘Reel Truth History’ YouTube channel.
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